The nine chapters in this book explore how the Italian education system responded to distance learning during the first wave of the pandemic. The impact of the hard lockdown on both teaching and learning revealed the inherent weaknesses of a system in which digital technology had only recently been introduced and highlighted the relevant inequalities in their access and use.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

List of Figures and Tables -- Notes on Contributors -- Introduction: Social Needs, Emergency Policies and Solidaristic Attitudes throughout the Italian Education System: Sociological Research during the Covid-19 Pandemic Outbreak / Maddalena Colombo, Marco Romito, Massimiliano Vaira and Martina Visentin -- 1 Challenges for Early Childhood Professionals: An Empirical Research Project on the Strategies, Practices and Effects of LEADs / Rita Bertozzi and Tatiana Saruis -- 2 Rethinking the Role of No Schooling during the Pandemic / Maurizio Merico and Fausta Scardigno -- 3 Rhetoric, Problem or Necessity? A Study of Parental Involvement during Covid-19 / Mariagrazia Santagati and Paolo Barabanti -- 4 From Classroom to Screen: An Exploratory Study of University Students in Sicily during the Covid-19 Lockdown / Umberto Di Maggio -- 5 A New World Is Open? Distance Teaching in Italian Universities during the Covid-19 Emergency / Francesco Ramella and Michele Rostan -- 6 Young Europeans, Distance Learning and Trust in Educational Institutions: A Comparative Analysis after Covid-19 / Diego Mesa -- 7 Inside the Emergency: Digital Teaching from the Point of View of Teachers / Eduardo Barberis, Nico Bazzoli, Domenico Carbone and Joselle Dagnes -- 8 Distance Learning/Teaching during the Covid-19 Emergency: The Perspective of School Principals / Stefania Capogna, Maria Chiara De Angelis and Flaminia Musella -- 9 The Platformization and Commodification of Italian Schools during the Covid-19: Crisis Implications for Policy and Future Research / Gianna Cappello -- A Post-Commentary from the UK: Educational Challenges after the Covid-19 Pandemic / Spyros Themelis -- Index.

The nine chapters in this book explore how the Italian education system responded to distance learning during the first wave of the pandemic. The impact of the hard lockdown on both teaching and learning revealed the inherent weaknesses of a system in which digital technology had only recently been introduced and highlighted the relevant inequalities in their access and use. While students, teachers and families adapted (albeit with difficulty) to the new learning and teaching routines, the institutions faced the challenge of ensuring quality and equality. By including various case studies and unedited sets of data collected in different areas of the country, the book offers up-to-date insights on the impact of the pandemic on the Italian school system and provides a broad introduction to the educational emergency from a sociological perspective. The volume ends with a post-commentary comparing the Italian case with the similar situation of school closure as it occurred in the United Kingdom. Contributors are: Paolo Barabanti, Eduardo Barberis, Nico Bazzoli, Rita Bertozzi, Stefania Capogna, Gianna Cappello, Domenico Carbone, Maddalena Colombo, Joselle Dagnes, Maria Chiara De Angelis, Maurizio Merico, Diego Mesa, Flaminia Musella, Francesco Ramella, Marco Romito, Michele Rostan, Mariagrazia Santagati, Tatiana Saruis, Fausta Scardigno, Spyros Themelis, Massimiliano Vaira and Martina Visentin.

Description based on print version record.